Learning & Teaching News
Book in a Day
A mysterious explosion occurs not too far in the future in a prosperous city called Acetonia.
No one survives.
Why did the bomb explode?
Who planted it?
Was it an inside job?
Will we ever find out?, read the book to answer your burning questions (just get a fire extinguisher if you’re on fire)
Seven resilient creative students from Year 7 to 10, took part in the Book in a Day SIS challenge. They collaborated to write and illustrate a story over 4000 words long in just one day. They managed to do this via Zoom and using a Shared Google doc. Their sharing of ideas and narrowing their wild plot lines into a cohesive story with action, twists, engaging characters and beautiful illustrations was magnificent.
Congratulations to Tristan Estrada, Alex Burd, Matthew Sinclair, Ruhani Kaushal, Clara Matters-Jara, Conner Shiel, Paramveer Gill and Sienna Dubier.
Something I enjoyed about the BIN experience was that even though we couldn’t see each other face to face, we still managed to come up with brilliant ideas and be open and willingly take in others ideas. A challenge I had to overcome was to talk to people I didn’t know and on the phone/ facetime as well. At first it was very difficult but as time passed, I grew more comfortable to talk to them and soon learnt that we even had a couple of things in common, which was really good. Something I admire in other people was that we were all very open to each other's ideas. Even though we criticised some ideas we combined some here and there. I personally loved the experience, yes it was difficult due to remote learning but we got through it and did our best!
- Ruhani Kaushal
Book in a day was something I haven't experienced before, and I’m really glad that I did. Even though it was challenging not doing it face to face, the whole team overcame that hurdle to complete what I think was an excellent book. Book in a Day is never about a singular person, it is about being a team and working together, which I really love about our team.
– Connor Shiel
Tournament of Minds
Tournament of Minds 2020 has begun. Students are currently meeting and collaborating via Zoom and shared Google docs. We wish them much luck and the ability to persevere.
It is an international problem-solving program for Teams of students from Primary and Secondary years.
TOM is centred upon creative thinking and problem solving.
It is up to teams to work together to answer a SUPER CHALLENGE for 2020, as creatively as possible, over a 6 week time frame.
They then present the solution as a 5 minute performance, submitted electronically to the Judging Panels.
The team at Cranbourne Campus consists of:
Ruhani Kaushal
Lasadi Marasinghe Arachchige
Alex Burd
Vasu Kaushal
Harmony Kaur
Latesha Franks
Matthew Sinclair
Bernadette McDermott
Romero E Learning Advisor
Parent Teacher Interviews
We have just passed the mid-way point of Semester 2, 9 weeks down and 9 school weeks to go until we begin Head Start for 2021. Of course, for Year 12s the amount of time remaining is less. At this point in the semester, it is a good time to stop and take stock of where you are and what you may need to change or improve on to continue in your learning. One great way to do this is by having conversations with the teachers and there is a great formal opportunity to do this next week at Parent Teacher Interviews. As we missed this opportunity in Semester 1 due to social distancing restrictions, for many parents, this will be their first opportunity to have a formal Parent Teacher Interview this year.
Parent Teacher Interviews will occur this Wednesday, 2 September from 2 pm until 8.30 pm. It will be important to be with your child at their laptop so that you can accept the call from the teacher. There is not the opportunity for you to start the Zoom Meeting with the teacher. I would like to offer some advice on how to get the most out of this time with the teachers.
- Make sure the interview is attended by both student and parent. This should be easier this time around as you can simply say to your child that they need to be with you so that you can access their device! It is important for students to attend so that they can contribute to the conversation about their learning. Also, if a teacher said 10 positive things about a student and 1 thing they needed to work on, it is very easy for parents to focus on the 1 improvement point and gloss over the good stuff. It is important for the students to hear about their strengths as well.
- Prepare for the interview. Make sure you have looked at the Progress Report and there has already been a conversation about what that report says. This will enable everyone to be on the same page at the start of the interview and mean there are no surprises. It will also give the students a chance to explain to their parents any issues they have been having before talking with their teachers and to compile a list of talking points you may wish to discuss.
- Ask questions. As a parent or student at an interview, you do not just need to sit and listen to the teacher, you can ask questions to find out what you want to know. Some great questions include:
- How is my child going in this class?
- What are my child’s interests and strengths?
- What does my child struggle with/do you have any concerns?
- What can I do at home to support my child’s learning?
- How does my child contribute to the class atmosphere?
- How does my child get along with other students?
We look forward to talking with all parents and students at the Parent Teacher Interviews and hope to continue to build great partnerships between school and home. However, please remember that the formal interviews are only one opportunity to talk with the teachers, you are always welcome to email or request a call from your child’s teachers to discuss their progress at anytime and we encourage you to do so.
Mr Andrew Mitchell Mr David Hansen
Senior Years Curriculum Leader Deputy Principal - Learning and Teaching
Clyde North Campus